10 Tips for Staying Sand-Free After the Beach

Going to the beach may be one of the highlights of summer but bringing home trails of sand can be a huge nuisance. If you want to enjoy the beach minus all the sandy souvenirs in your clothing, car, and home, read on for the best hacks to stay sand-free. These strategies, tried and tested by experienced surfers and cleaning professionals, will help you enjoy your day at the beach without finding sand in your car and home for weeks to come. 

Line the trunk

Protect your car by lining your trunk with a plastic garbage bag or a fitted sheet. If you opt for the garbage bag, cut it open and use it to line your trunk. When you’re done at the beach, you can throw out the bag and the sand in it. You can also use an old fitted sheet to protect your trunk by lining it with the elastic facing up to catch more sand. Just shake out the sheet once you get home.

Bag it up 

Bring lots of bags on your beach trip to protect vulnerable items. You'd be surprised how a single grain of sand can quickly obliterate a cell phone! So store it in a resealable plastic bag. Also, bring a sack for your sandy beach gear and clothing, plus a separate one for clean items. Having designated bags will help you contain sandy belongings, keeping your clean clothes... clean!

Use baby powder

All hail the classic beach hack: Baby powder, or talcum powder, can help remove sand from your body. Sprinkle some on areas where sand is stuck on you. The baby powder helps absorb excess moisture, making it easy to brush the sand away. Cornstarch is an excellent alternative as well.

Protect your hair

Crusty strands are no fun. Sand can easily get tangled in wet hair, making it hard to remove, but a silicone-based hair serum offers help and protection. “Apply a small amount of silicone-based hair serum to your hair before hitting the beach,” advises Prerna Jain, founder of the cleaning company Ministry of Cleaning, which is based in Australia. The serum helps prevent sand from sticking to your hair, making it much easier to rinse and detangle after your beach day. (A bonus is that silicone helps protect hair from heat as well.)

Use a sand-free mat

Bring a sand-free mat to sit on, and you’ll save yourself the hassle of slogging around sandy, wet beach towels. Water-resistant, high-quality mats, like the CGear Multimats Original Sand-Free Mat, are so comfortable you won’t even need your beach towels to lie on. Keep your towels in a bag so they’re sand-free and ready to use after a swim.

Brush yourself off

A soft bristle brush makes it easy to dust off sediment, especially when there are no sources of fresh, clean water nearby. There are beach-specific products available, like the Beach Sandy, but a clean paint brush will also do the trick.

Rinse off before heading home

Before leaving the beach, rinse off in the public showers. Use lukewarm or cold water to rinse, recommends Nathaly Vieira, founder of InspireClean, a cleaning company based in Ontario, Canada. Her theory? Hot water will make the sand stick to you. Also, rinse your sandy clothes if possible before getting into the car.

Bring a water bottle

Not all beaches have showers, so bring a water bottle in your car just for rinsing, advises Marc Bromhall, an avid surfer and founder of Surf’s Up Magazine. If there are no showers at the beach, you can rinse off your hands and feet with the water from your bottle.

Rinse off... again

This one might be obvious, but after a long, tiring day at the beach, it's easy to delay this. Once you get home, immediately rinse your swimsuits, towels, and sandy clothes outside using a hose so you're not tracking anything around the house. Plus, rinsing your clothes before washing will prevent sand from invading your washing machine and potentially messing with it... eek And don't forget to hose down beach chairs, coolers, toys, and other accessories!

Vacuum, sweep, and mop

Vacuum the inside of your car and home to remove stray sand, and take mats, rugs, and runners outside to give them a good shake, too. Follow up by vacuuming them to be extra thorough. For hard floors, begin by sweeping and then vacuuming. Mopping afterward will remove even more sandy particles, but rinse your mop often to prevent sand from sticking to the mop head. Carpeting should also get a quick Hoover-ing, and if you see lingering sand clinging to the fibers, use a stiff brush to loosen it up, then vacuum again.